Happy Owner

I got one as a gift, and think it's a fantastic product. The screen looks good, and you can barely see the pixels. The page turning is fast enough. It has a long, long battery life, which lasts even longer if you turn off the wireless. If you read a lot, and enjoy reading, it's a great thing. The only impediment is its relatively high price.

The Kindle 2 includes a very simple web browser, so you can visit web pages. This makes the device really useful when you're not near a WiFi spot and need to check email. It's not as good as a smartphone for web use, though.

The main competitors to the Kindle are the Barnes and Noble Nook, and the Sony Readers. There are also software readers for the iPhone and Blackberry, and PDAs as well as desktop computers. Additionally, there are a few ebook readers that don't use e-ink, the best known being the ECTACO jetBooks.

Generally, the competing ebooks support more file formats. The jetBook has color, whereas the e-ink readers don't.

The Sony and B&N cost roughly the same as the Kindle, but support more file formats, including the EPUB format. The other readers, like the jetBook, are cheaper.

These other readers lack tactile keyboards. That's a big minus, for me, because I like to write notes while I read. Kindle has a note-taking feature, and it's just nice to have. I'm sure it's not a critical feature - but one that matters when you're reading some difficult material.

The Nook has an on-screen keyboard. That might be good enough.

The main difference between these other readers and the Kindle is that the Kindle has a tightly integrated system to sell and deliver books. The others are still catching up - and some require you to download the file, connect the reader, copy the file over, and disconnect. Some have an application to manage the downloading and copy process, so it's easier, but a computer is still involved. You have to install the software.

In contrast, the Kindle immediately delivers the book over the air. You never have to copy files (though you can, if you want). You never need to connect a Kindle to a computer (though you can). That, more than anything else, makes the Kindle a better product, especially for people who don't like to deal with computers.

Kindle 2 pros and cons

The Kindle 2 is an e reader that Consumer Reports listed as best in there review. Other ereaders are available, nost notably Sony and Nook.This review conerns the kindle as compaired to its main competitors.
Cons- Kindle is propriatory to Amazon. You can buy books from other places without Amazon's DRM as long as it is Mobi but it is not as easy as simply clicking the buy button on Amazon. Most libraries do not carry Mobi books. No light to read in the dark. Can not track it if it is stolen. Can not share books with friends.
So why did I give it an Excellent rating?
Pros- Amazon has tons of books available, usually at a better price than some others. To get a book, just click the buy button. If your wireless is on, your book appears in about 1 minute. Amazon has lots of free limited time offers, changes daily. In 1 week I "bought" for free books that later that week listed in the top 100 books for fees, the books listed for $98 total. I find myself trying new authors that I enjoy and end up buying more books! Most classic books can be found for free. The screen is very easy on the eyes due to no backlight. It can easily be read in bright sunlight, and a $1 light from a dollar store works perfectly when reading in the dark. You can up to 6 Kindles on an account and they all can pull up the same books. Unfortunatley People do steal them, It would be great if Amazon tracked them if the wireless is on (hint hint, amazon!) It is easy to block the Kindle if it is taken, and all of your books are not lost. When you get a new Kindle, all your books are waiting for you. You can even use your kindle for PC or smart phones to keep reading your books. Your kindle can even log on to the internet with the 3G wireless. And NO monthly charge. It is not the fastest connection but I have checked weather reports about incoming storms while out in the middle of nowhere. It is also an MP3 player, plays your music while you read. My own personal guilty pleasure? On long drives I can turn on text to speach and it reads the book to me, turning the page as it reads.
My whole family is in the process of getting Kindles, we fight over the ones we currently have. My parents are 70+ years old and find it much easier to read on the kindle. The size print can be adjusted to what is most comfortable to the reader. My Mother loves not having try to search for books she wants. 1 click and it appears on the kindle!
Good luck and Happy Reading!

Update 2012 Some of the Cons are now fixed with the Kindle 2. You can now lend many books to other Kindle owners for a 2 week period, and libraries now have kindle books. If debating between a K2 or fire, it depends on what you want to do with it. The K2 is best for reading, the fire for multi media. Get a fire to play games or get on line in a wi fi zone, it is harder on the eyes for just reading due to the back light.

GREAT PRODUCT, I CAN'T WAIT TO DOWNLOAD MY FAVORITE BOOKS TO DECLUTTER HOUS

I BOUGHT THE KINDLE BECAUSE MY BEST FRIEND HAS ONE,AND SHE LOVES IT, SHE TAKES IT TO WORK,(SHE GETS A LOT OF SHORT BREAKS). SHE TOLD ME HOW MANY BOOKS IT HOLDS ETC. SINCE I GOT MY KINDLE I LOVE IT. THE FIRST THING I DID WAS CHANGE THE FONT SIZE, NOW I CAN READ ANY BOOK REGARDLESS OF HOW IT IS PRINTED. I AM GOING ON VACATION SOON, AND IT IS GREAT THAT I WON'T HAVE THE BULK OF FIVE OR SIX BOOKS( MY HUSBAND AND I BOTH READ). I HAVE NOT COMPARED IT TO ANY OTHERS,AND MY ONLY NAG WOULD BE, I WISH THE SCREEN COULD BEEN A TAD BIGGER.

Kindle vs Sony

I bought this for my husband, who ended up getting another one and didn't need it. I used it some, and see some pros AND cons to it. I also own a Sony Reader, which I adore. I ended up reselling this Kindle on eBay because I prefer the Reader. The Kindle is nice because of the placement of the buttons - the "next page" buttons are perfectly placed for you to turn pages with one hand. On the Reader, there is a center wheel (in IPod style) that turns pages, and your hand doesn't rest comfortably on it unless you are gripping with both hands. The Kindle also has more features than my base model Sony - I like connecting to the 'net, and playing music while I read. However, the Kindle has a plastic frame, which seems to crack easily. I have heard from a few people that the plastic has cracked for no reason. The Reader has a nice metal casing - even after dropping it a few times, it's in near perfect condition, with just a small scratch or two. I also didn't like the Kindle "screen savers" - the point of a screen saver is to keep images from burning into the screen, but Kindle uses STILL images ... which then burn into the screen instead of your text. (The Reader goes blank when inactive.) Finally, the Kindle doesn't use page numbers, but rather LOCATION numbers. It's confusing to me to be on "location 2170/5400". What does that MEAN? Is it a 100 page novel or 10? What's wrong with page numbers?

All the features are probably worth the $100 or so you pay on eBay; Kindles are a lot of fun to play with. I'm sure it comes down to personal preference - I recommend going to a store and playing with one of these if you're interested.

AMAZON KINDLE 2ND GENERATION

It's very cool and I love that I can download books, magazines, newspapers and so on in less than a minute. Plus, there are all kinds of free books or subscriptions through Amazon. They have free deals that change all the time so you can get books free that you wouldn't think was possible. It has great resolution and the text size can be changed if it's too small for your eyes. It's the coolest little gadget. I definitely recommend it for anyone who loves reading, especially if you hate lugging around books or want to get rid of the clutter of all those books. I chose this version because it was cheaper and it came with 3G so I don't have to wait until I'm at a "hotspot" to download books. It also has a lot of memory. I added 6 albums to my kindle to listen to when I read (too cool) and it doesn't slow it down at all. I just keep downloading more and more books on top of all that music, no problems at all!